There are a number of devices in the prior art intended for retrieval of a rope used during water skiing. In some devices, there is no way to automatically stop the motor when the rope is in or fully retrieved. In some of the prior art devices, friction clutches protect the motor and the motor can keep turning, even though the rope is not being wound on the spool. In others, switches exist which automatically stop the motor when the rope is fully in but no provision is made for operator control other than separately starting and stopping the motor with a second individual switch when there is no automatic control of the motor.
Further, there is no automatic brake for the motor when it is not energized. The prior art does disclose a manually positionable brake lever that can be used to lock rotation of the drum when the device is not in use.
Also, there is no way to allow the motor to rotate substantially freely when the rope is being pulled out while not fouling the rope. Some devices in the prior art have a frictional drag of the gears which rotate the speed at which the rope is pulled out. Others require the loosening of a nut and still others allow a total freewheeling of the spool which can, of course, foul the rope. Also, in some of the prior art devices, there is no way to remotely couple the motor to the spool. The prior art discloses remote energization of the motor but not remotely coupling the motor to the spool. Finally, in some cases in the prior art, the reel-in device is portable and has to be moved when it is not in use.
The present invention is preferably made of plastic insofar as the spool or reel is concerned and is, therefore, lightweight and easy to install The device has a means for automatically stopping the motor when the rope is wound in and, at the same time, enables the operator of the boat to further disable the motor so that in the event the rope is partially pulled off of the reel, the motor will not start again. Also, the present invention has an automatic brake for the motor when it is not energized.
The present invention also allows the reel to rotate while the rope is being pulled out and yet sufficient tension is applied to the reel so that the rope is not fouled.
Also, in the prior art, there is no way to remotely couple the motor to the spool. In the present device, the motor can be coupled to the spool and disengaged from the spool remotely
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rope winding device that is small and lightweight and easy to install on a mechanism or device such as a boat.
It is also an object of the present invention to automatically stop the motor when the rope is completely wound in and yet allow the operator the ability to remotely turn off the motor so that it cannot come back on in the event the rope slips away from its wound-in position.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an automatic brake for the motor when it is not energized, thus preventing the spool from inadvertently unwinding the rope.
It is still another object of the present invention to allow the spool to unwind the rope under the pressure of a friction engagement with the motor thus allowing the rope to be pulled out under sufficient pressure to prevent the spool from freely spinning and fouling the rope
It is also an object of the present invention to provide means for remotely coupling the motor to the spool to rewind the rope when desired